Elvis Aaron Presley 1970-1972 | That's The Way It Is

Elvis Presley 1970-1972 : From Las Vegas 1970 to Hawaii 1972, in concerts, studio Recordings and important events in his Life. 'That's The Way It Is' and 'Elvis On Tour'.

January 10, Rehearsals begin at the RCA studio on Sunset Boulevard. Because Ronnie Tutt has been unable to reach an agreement on salary, he has been replaced on drums by Bob Lanning, Pianist Larry Muhoberac, too drops out, and James Burton recruits his friend Glen D. Hardin who played with Buddy Holly's backing group, The Crickets. Cissy Houston too, has departed to be replaced for a time by Ann Williams.

February 16, Felton Jarvis supervises the recording of selected songs from both the dinner and midnight shows which will serve as the backbone for Elvis' upcoming 'On Stage' album.

The album features the world-wide #1 single 'The Wonder of You'.

16 Feb 8.30pm
16 Feb Midnight

February 17, RCA continues to record selectively at both evening shows.

17 Feb 8.30pm
17 Feb Midnight

February 18, An afternoon rehearsal is called to work out arrangements for three additional songs, since there is not enough satisfactory new material in the show to fill an album. The thee songs are; the 1959 Ray Peterson ballad 'The Wonder of You', Ray Price's 'Release Me' and the blues standard 'See See Rider' -- Recording continues during both shows on this and the following night.

February 23, Elvis closes
his engagement with a midnight show that runs until 3am giving what many consider to be one of his finest performances.

23 Feb 8.30pm
23 Feb Midnight

February 25, Elvis flies to Houston for his shows at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Kirk Kerkorian's private jet.

Astrodome, Houston, Tx February 1970

February 26, Elvis became aware from the first moments that the sound system is hopeless and the band will be unable to hear itself. 'Don't fight it' he says to Glen Hardin. 'Just go ahead and play'.

Starting with a press conference in Houston on the 27th, Elvis performs afternoon and evening shows at the Houston Astrodome . Two more shows follow on the 28th. Two more follow on March 1. A closing press conference and banquet follow,
and Elvis is presented an armload of recent gold record awards. The six shows attract 207,494 people and set records. There is speculation among the press and the public that Elvis might tour in concert for the first time since the fifties.

March 1, Elvis
hold another press conference after the final show, at which he is presented with Gold records for five of his 1969 releases: 'Don't Cry Daddy', 'In THe Ghetto', 'Suspicious Minds', and the two LP's From Elvis In Memphis and From Memphis to Vegas/ From Vegas to Memphis.

N8809E Then a Delta Airlines Convair 880 landing at New York's JFK International Airport May 1970. This aircraft was purchased by Elvis Presley and became The Lisa Marie.

June 1, a new guardhouse is completed at the Graceland gates - cost $1950. Felton Jarvis quits his job at RCA to work directly for Elvis, not only in the recording studio but in Las Vegas and on the road.

June 4, Elvis begins five days of recording at RCA's Studio B in Nashville, reporting each evening at 6.00pm and working until the dawn hours. The decision to follow up the magnificent sessions in Memphis by going back to RCA's Nashville studio and hiring Nashville musicians, must have puzzled quite a few people at the time. However, as Chip Moman's Memphis studio had folded, both RCA and Felton Jarvis must have been pleased to see the situation return to what it had been before - RCA because of administrative differences with Chip Moman, and Jarvis because he would once more be in total control again. Felton Jarvis had quit RCA in the beginning of 1970, and from the June sessions onwards would work for Elvis exclusively, both in the recording studios and with live recordings. ln this capacity Jarvis supervised all the arrangements such as booking studios, hiring musicians, and staying in touch with the various publishing companies and RCA.

Whereas Elvis would be in control during the actual sessions, Jarvis would do all the overdubbing sessions at a later date and see to the forwarding of the master tapes to RCA.

Given the different location and the presence of a different producer, the radical change in sound perhaps did not come as a total surprise. Gone was the soul-imbued Memphis sound, substituted by the slick Nashville country sound. The 1970 band line-up had changed drastically from the one last employed in January 1968.

No longer present were the old timers like Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, Bob Moore, Buddy Harman, Pete Drake, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph, and The Jordanaires. Of the old crew only Chip Young, David Briggs, and Charlie McCoy were in the studios, Some of the newcomers such as Norbert Putnam on bass and Jerry Carrigan on drums were in the same age group as Young and Briggs.

From Elvis' live band only James Burton took part in the sessions, perhaps because apart from Jerry Reed no lead guitarist of top-notch quality was available in Nashville.

The sessions lasted live nights, and produced a total of no less than 34 recordings. The usual recording procedure was reverted to, with Elvis doing his vocals along with the rhythm track. Unlike the previous Nashville sessions this time a lot of overdubs were made, probably in order to simplify technical proceedings during the actual sessions. All the back-up vocals and such extras as banjo and fiddle parts were recorded during the following months. The saxophone that was so prominent in Elvis' sixties sessions was dropped in the seventies' band, and any horn section work was now dubbed in later. Once again the quality of the material to be recorded presented a problem, and, unfortunately, a great number of mediocre ballads were chosen. Generally, the songs that make up Elvis Country are of a high standard, with Bill Monroe's 'Little Cabin On The Hill' and a great rocker like 'l Washed My Hands ln Muddy Water' being especially impressive. Apart from rock oriented songs like 'Patch It Up' and the medley 'Got My Mojo Working'/ 'Keep Your Hands Off Her' during these sessions rock repertoire unfortunately was neglected, not to mention blues or soul oriented repertoire. A definite disadvantage of the overdubbing procedure was Elvis' absence when this work 'was done. As a result, Felton Jarvis' rather traditional concepts became the ruling factor in all the overdubbing and mixing. Jarvis would then submit final mixes to Elvis, who would perhaps occasionally ask for certain changes to be made.

June 7, A new idea began taking shape. The original plan to cut just eighteen songs could not have included any thought of a second album, but on the fourth night, all of a sudden, a country album began to emerge.

July, After the marathon session, 35 masters in 5 days, in Nashville, Elvis enjoyed himself until he had to go west for the upcoming Las Vegas engagement. On June 22 he bought three snow mobiles, which were able to drive the Graceland grass. He went to Nashville, maybe to review and repair some recordings, he stayed in Dallas for a couple of days and flew back to Memphis as 'John Carpenter', together with Richard Davis and Charlie Hodge. Until he went to California he saw screenings in the Memphian every night.

Elvis at Graceland with his fans July 1970.

International. Hotel, Las Vegas, Nv August 1970 -Elvis - Thats's The Way It Is

Above, This great shot from the August 7, 1970 rehearsal is taken from the back of the booklet from the FTD release of That's The Way It Is Special Edition CD. Back to Las Vegas for rehearsals for another month-long engagement at the International. Elvis opens on August 10 and closes on September 7.
MGM is on hand to shoot a documentary film called Elvis : That's the Way It Is that will show Elvis off stage, in rehearsals, in the recording studio, and on stage.
RCA will also release an album with the same title.

The Wonder Of You features the complete concert performance from , Las Vegas on August 13, 1970.

It's been mixed from the original 16-track tapes for the first time in its entirety in Stereo by Vic Anesini. Unique performances include; Stranger In The Crowd, In The Ghetto, Make The World Go Away and Don't Cry Daddy.

Shorn of the intrusive post production dubs, orchestration and background harmonies of the original releases, and given some inspired sound mixing, the songs on this FTD release are a joy to listen to. The improvement in sound and feel of the original releases is remarkable, revealing an unsuspected vitality and energy, and consequently, the enjoyment the album delivers surpasses anything you can anticipate.

August 17, Soprano Kathy Westmoreland replaces Millie Kirkham, who has in essence taken over some of departed Sweet InspirationCissy Houston's solo duties solely for the filming of 'That's The Way it Is'. Kirkham who is busy with session work in Nashville cannot extend her commitment though the engagement, and Kathy signs on initially just for the remaining three weeks - but stays for the next seven years.

August 26, a security guard at the hotel received a phonecall in which he was told that Elvis would be kidnapped that same evening. The following day 'Colonel' Parker got a similar telephone message. On 28th August, at 6:15 in the morning, the wife of Joe Esposito received a phone call where the person on the other end of the line claimed Elvis would be shot during his last show the following day. The person demanded $ 50.000 to reveal the name of the potential killer. A couple of hours later a menu was found in Elvis' mail at the hotel on which Elvis' face was destroyed and a gun had been drawn pointing to his heart. On the menu was written: 'Guess Who, and Where?' Elvis took the death threats very seriously, just like his employees - and the FBI - but knowing that there were FBI agents in the showroom probably didn't help to relieve the enormous pressure Elvis must have been under during the performance that night.

The situation must have been almost unbearable during 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' - when the stage lights go off and only a small spotlight lights up Elvis' head and shoulders, a perfect target for a killer...

October 15, Back in Memphis Elvis attends the Gospel Quartet Convention at Ellis Auditorium where he is introduced to the crowd by Blackwood Brothers leader James Blackwood.

October 17, Elvis returns to the Quartet Convention, where he forms an impromptu quartet with James Blackwood, Statesmen founder Hovie Lister and bass singer J.D. Sumner and has his picture taken backstage.

On Tour - November 1970

Elvis, That's the Way It Is, Elvis thirty-second film, opens in theaters to good reviews and good box office. Documentaries traditionally do not do well at the box office, but this one makes a respectable showing.

December 20, Elvis arrived in Los Angeles at 2.17 a.m. and saw a doctor about a rash he had developed on his face and neck. Most likely caused by an allergic reaction to the medication he was taking for an eye infection, but aggravated by the chocolate he ate on the plane. In the afternoon he explained to Jerry Schilling that he wanted to return to Washington. Jerry protested because he had to be back in California for work. Elvis then allowed him to call Sonny West and have him meet them in Washington. He gave Sonny permission to tell Vernon and Priscilla he was safe, but not where he was. On the plane Elvis wrote a letter to President Nixon offering his services in the government's effort to combat illicit drug use.

December 21, 1970, Elvis' famous visit with President Richard Nixon at the White House occurs in Washington, D.C. The meeting was initiated by Presley, who wrote Nixon a six-page letter requesting a visit with the President and suggesting that he be made a 'Federal Agent-at-Large' in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Elvis arrived in Washington and was picked up at the airport. He dropped off his letter to the president at 6.30 a.m. Then he checked into the Hotel Washington again. Elvis tried to get in touch with the BNDD's director John Ingersoll. This failed, but there was a call from President Nixon's deputy counsel, asking Elvis to meet him in 45 minutes at the Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds. There Elvis, Sonny and Jerry met with President Nixon. To everyone's surprise, except for Elvis', they really hit it off, and Elvis left the following day with that what he came for: the BNDD badge.

December 24, Elvis presents a Mercedeses to Sonny West as a wedding present.

December 30, Elvis returns to Washington with eight friends, including ex-sheriff Bill Morris, for a visit to the headquarters of the National Sheriffs Association, where Elvis takes out memberships for everyone so that they will all be eligible for automatic life insurance policies. Morris has also promised to arrange for an appointment with J. Edgar Hoover, but once again this falls through, though the group does visit FBI headquarters the following day fora special tour.

December 31, 1970 : Starting the day still in Washington after his famous visit with President Richard Nixon, Elvis expresses his admiration for J. Edgar Hoover to the FBI agent conducting the tour, remarking 'in private comments' after the tour, as recorded in the agent's memo, 'that he, Presley, is the 'living proof that America is the land of opportunity' since he rose from truck driver to prominent entertainer almost overnight'. Elvis offers to serve in an undercover capacity m any way he can. On the agent's recommendation Director Hoover sends Elvis a note on January 4, indicating that 'your generous comments concerning the Bureau and me are appreciated, and you may be sure we wil keep in mind your offer to be of assistance'.

Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (The Jaycees). He is nervous about his acceptance speech.

He is touched, excited and deeply proud. This national honor has been given each year since the late 1930's and recognizes young men who have made great achievements in their field of endeavor, illustrating the opportunities available in the free enterprise system. It also applauds humanitarianism and community service.

Scientists, inventors, performers, film makers, politicians bound for the Presidency, and men of greatness in all fields, have been selected for this award over the years.

For Elvis, a man who grew up poor, and, in his early career knew the sting of ridicule from the Establishment, who, through the years has known criticism of his work, this is one of his proudest moments. It is a sign that he has achieved acceptance, recognition, and respect for his work and for the kind of person he is.

Above - In January 1971 Elvis was awarded as one of the ten most outstanding young men of America by the 'Jaycees'. Over the years in various printed articles and heard on record releases you could read or listen to Elvis' acceptance speech but.... did you know that it was edited?

June 1971, The City Council of Memphis, Tennessee officially changed the name of Highway 51 South to Elvis Presley Boulevard in June 1971. The first sign was erected in January 1972 at a ceremony outside Graceland with Memphis Mayor Wyeth Chandler and Elvis' father Vernon Presley. When Elvis purchased Graceland in 1957, Highway 51 South and the area known as Whitehaven were 'out in the country'.

By the 1970s, shopping centers, housing developments
and apartment complexes had sprung up in the area.

An American Trilogy CD is the long awaited and asked for FTD release of multi-track recordings from February 1972's Las Vegas season + extra songs from the opening night January 26th 1972 soundboard concert to give us a total of 24 tracks. Most of the 15th Feb 1972 M/S here is unreleased, the title track from 14.2.72 M/S is also unreleased, but tracks 10-14 were previously released. MoreElvis Stereo Concerts.

March 22, after a good deal of effort, Felton Jarvis persuades Elvis to try the rocker -- Burning Love -- that he has gotten from his friend, Nashville publisher Bob Beckham. Both Felton and Beckham are convinced that songwriter Denis Linde's 'Burning Love' can be a big hit for Elvis.

Elvis on Tour, In April MGM films Elvis in a Hollywood recording studio, then films on and off stage during his 15-city concert tour, which is a big success.
MGM will use the footage for another theatrically released documentary, Elvis on Tour a Golden Globe-winning American musical-documentary motion picture released by MGM in 1972. It was the thirty-third and final motion picture to star Elvis Presley, whose film career began in 1956.

A follow-up to the 1970 release Elvis : That's the Way It Is, another musical-documentary, this film followed Presley as he embarked on a 15-city tour of the United States in April 1972. The working title of the film was Standing Room Only and a soundtrack album was planned with this title, but never released. Elvis on Tour is the only Elvis Presley film from which no actual soundtrack recordings were released concurrent with the film's release (although Presley did have hits with studio recordings of songs such as 'Burning Love' and 'Separate Ways' which are also featured in the film).

The Elvis On Tour Movie begins with Elvis singing Johnny B. Goode over the credits. Elvis is filmed arriving at the auditoriums, waiting nervously backstage and then appearing on stage to rapturous welcomes. The multiple image effect is used to great effect throughout the whole film. Part of several concerts are shown, interspersed with rare footage of the first Ed Sullivan Show, Army induction, Elvis in his gold suit and other clips and stills.,

Elvis is seen recording 'Separate Ways' in the studio as well as being driven to and from concerts, running the gauntlet of his fans as he enters and exits hotels and concert halls.

In between shots of Elvis singing and kissing his fans, many kissing scenes from previous MGM movies are edited in and this makes for a very entertaining segment.

A lot of action is packed into the film with nostalgia and good music. Like the Elvis shows themselves it had to finish and the end of the film shows Elvis running offstage after 'Can't Help Falling In Love' and into a waiting Limousine which carries him away. As the closing credits roll Memories is the perfect background music to the traveling and back stage scenes being shown. As the film fades there's a reprise of the shot of Elvis in the car smiling at some distant memory. On Tour is a marvelous film capturing Elvis doing what he did best, singing for his fans. Like That's The Way It Is it will always be a cherished, favorite movie.

'I never met a guitar player worth a damn', a statement attributed to Vernon by Elvis in the documentary 'Elvis On Tour' is an old southern expression. Over and over again in Southern imagery comes the figure of a man sitting on his front porch with his guitar pickin' and singin' while the crops go to ruin. -Elvis and Gladys.

Above - Elvis talks about his early career, hand picking Bill Black, and D.J. Fontana (Scotty was already there) - Moving on to '69 Elvis again talks about hand picking his band for Las Vegas in '69. Elvis talks of asking who are the best guitar players around and Glen Campbell and James Burton were suggested. Elvis then discusses his Jaycees speech and how nervous he was and when he first decided he wanted to be a singer. He thinks (From memory) he one 5th place in a talent contest.

Elvis reveals his disappointment with his movie career and that he he had no self satisfaction 'inside'. Elvis thought they would develop something better for him.

Elvis makes entertainment history by performing four sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. John Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Art Garfunkel are among the music stars spotted at the shows. Nine days after it is recorded, RCA rush-releases a live album from one of the shows - Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden. Elvis tours to seven more cities. Elvis' Vegas and concert tour career is hot, hot, hot during the early to mid-seventies. He breaks attendance records in cities all over America.

Years later the best of the concerts is released on CD as An Afternoon In The Garden. (10 June 2.30pm). In fact, the lineup of songs on the two albums is nearly identical: the performances vary only slightly but An Afternoon In The Garden is the recommended purchase particually with Reconsider Baby and I'll Remember You.

July 6, Elvis and Priscilla's separation is formalized. A divorce is to come. Through George Klein Elvis is introduced to Linda Thompson, at the Memphian. He sees her again the following night and is captivated by her beauty and sense of humour, but is prevented for the time being from following up when she goes off on a three week family vacation. later in the month Elvis will briefly date another Memphis beauty queen, actress Cybill Shepherd. (Read about Elvis meeting Linda Thompson)

Elvis and Linda Thompson.

July 8, Colonel Parker announces that there will be a worldwide satellite broadcast of an Elvis concert from Hawaii in October or November.

July 26, Elvis is legally separated from Priscilla on this date.

July 31, Around this time goes to Los Angeles to meet Linda Thompson, whom he has persuaded to fly in from Memphis. Together they fly back to Las Vegas where Linda stays for most of the engagement.

Summer Festival contains a complete soundboard recording of Elvis' show at the Las Vegas Hilton on August 11, 1972. Plus some bonus tracks. This is for me a REAL pleasure to get a soundboard release from this summer in Las Vegas with enough 'bonus songs' to fill the running time to nearly 74 minutes AND represent Elvis' repertoire during this season. The representation here varies from the good to very good category, with several songs pretty excellent. Therefore even before I listen to the CD, I expected to be in for a treat ...

September 4, Elvis participates in a press conference in Vegas announcing plans for a television concert to be broadcast via satellite around the world from Hawaii on January 14. It is predicted that the show will reach the largest audience in television history and that the live album will be a big hit.

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Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley's songs are unforgettable - they have stood the test of time, especially his singles of the 1950s, a decade in which he had a song at No. 1. for 59 weeks and 4 No. 1 albums ('56-'59). Read More.